Predicting Next Wave of NBA Stars to Sign with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports

Jay-Z has gone from being the extremely visible minority shareholder of the Brooklyn Nets to being the face of one of the hottest agencies in sports after landing his first big NBA player, Kevin Durant.

Durant announced that he would be leaving Landmark Sports, which represented him for the past year, and the announcement that he's joining Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports is expected any day now.

The recently formed agency has picked up a few big names in its infancy, including Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees, Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock and Geno Smith of the New York Jets.

Obviously Durant is their biggest signing yet, and it would only make sense that they continue to land players around the league, especially with Jay-Z leading the way.

Having such a visible and well-respected figurehead atop the company has to do wonders for their recruiting process, and it probably doesn't hurt that most of their prospective clients are Jay-Z fans as well.

Moving forward, Roc Nation Sports will likely turn into one of the biggest multi-sport agencies and prove to be one of the biggest players in the NBA.

What They're Looking for

Roc Nation Sports is going to have to build a solid base before anything else, which means a handful of additions along the way.

It seems the agency is focusing on three things: location, visibility and youth.

Taking a look at who they've landed so far, each player displays at least one of these three characteristics.

Robinson Cano is 30, which isn't necessarily young, but it's not incredibly old for a baseball player, either. He does, however, play for the most recognizable baseball team on the planet, which has to be the main draw there.

Geno Smith is in the same situation location-wise, playing for a team that has been the center of a media whirlwind despite their struggles. His age and potential to become the starting quarterback for a New York-based team are definitely bonuses.

Skylar Diggins might seem like an odd grab, but she's a pretty, charismatic, young WNBA player. While she isn't going to dominate the league like Brittney Griner, she should be a marketable woman.

Kevin Durant is just 24 and poised to take over the NBA at any moment. He's a no-brainer.

Location is generally less important when it comes to the NBA, especially because players aren't covered in gear and tend to be all over the place with endorsements.

Damian Lillard

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Point guards are hot right now, so why not load up on point guards, right?

Damian Lillard became a cool player for people all over the country to like this season. They seemed to think they were going outside the box by claiming that he should win the Rookie of the Year Award, even though it was painfully obvious halfway into the season.

Even still, the interest that people took in Lillard made him an extremely popular player. Oh, and he's kind of awesome as well.

With a lack of West Coasters in the ranks, picking up a dude in Portland definitely wouldn't be a negative.

Kyrie Irving

Roc Nation has locked up the second-best player in the NBA, so they might as well go after a guy who has been tabbed by many to become the league's best point guard in the coming years.

Irving's face is recognized nationally (well, Irving as Uncle Drew at least), he's barely old enough to drink legally, and he is on the verge of exploding. All he needs is to play for a successful basketball team.

In the coming years, Irving's success could very easily lead to a ton of new endorsements, and even a signature shoe at some point.

He's a face, a name and a charismatic young player: the perfect guy to be the co-face of a budding sports agency.